Issue 457 - July 18, 2007

Welcome to the 457th issue of the PC Improvement News. PCIN consists mainly
of news highlights and tips. There is something for everyone, and if this is
your first issue, I'm sure there will be something for you. If you give me
two or three issues, I know that you will come back for more!

Contents

Opening Thoughts

Lisa and the boys have gone away for a few days to visit her parents. They
took the train to see them. It's nice that they can get away, but it's weird
when they're not around. I pick them up at the train station on Saturday.

There is a wirewalker (a tight-rope walker) who is trying to get permission
to walk above the Falls. I think he should be able to do it and have signed
a petition to support him. I just saw him today, and even though al he
is doing is walking, I could keep my eyes off of him. It's quite impressive
watching him.

News Highlights

Doctor warns against using iPods in a lightning storm

Listen to an iPod during a storm and you may get more than electrifying
tunes.
A Canadian jogger suffered wishbone-shaped chest and neck burns, ruptured
eardrums, and a broken jaw when lightning traveled through his music player's
wires. Last summer, a Colorado teen was hurt when lightning struck nearby
as he was listening to his iPod while mowing the lawn.
Emergency physicians report treating other patients with burns from freak
accidents while using personal electronic devices such as beepers, Walkman
players, and laptop computers outdoors during storms.

Microsoft is in the early stages of a plan that will see virtually its entire
lineup of underlying Internet services opened up to developers, the software
maker made clear this week.
In addition to making available its existing services, such as mail and instant
messaging, Microsoft also will create core infrastructure services, such
as storage and alerts, that developers can build on top of. It's a set of
capabilities that have been referred to as a "Cloud OS," though
it's not a term Microsoft likes to use publicly.

Averting a court battle over how it has handled the exodus from its Internet
dial-up service, AOL has agreed to make it easier for its remaining customers
to leave as part of a $3 million settlement with 48 states and the District
of Columbia.
The resolution, announced Wednesday, was driven by a deluge of complaints
from AOL customers who said they had tried to close their accounts, only
to be thwarted in their attempts or discover they were still being billed
for services they thought had been canceled.
The outcry led to a multistate investigation that would have culminated in
a lawsuit if AOL, based in Dulles, Va., had not agreed to a settlement, said
David M. Tiede, a deputy attorney general in California.

Tips and Other Stuff

DEC - Glimpse of the Future, 1994

Someone posted a great video on
YouTube that is a promotional video created for Digital Equipment (DEC).
One of the creators said that DEC "distributed thousands of copies
of this video, using it to help spread the word about the business potential
of the Web, which, at that time, many business people found difficult to
imagine." It's amazing to see the old web pages and how there were
almost no images. People were still using very slow modems back then. The
Internet has changed a lot in the last 13 years.

I'm sure many of you have seen this before, but CareerBuilder has a page
on their site with a funny little flash tool called Monk-e-mail.
The tool lets you send a message to someone and have it spoken in a browser
by a monkey (get it? ... monkey email). You can customize the monkey, its
clothes and accessory, and voice. You can also choose a pre-recorded message,
use text to speech (you type in your own message), record yourself online,
or call a telephone number to record your message. It's definitely a fun
time-waster!

Disclaimer
and Other Stuff

PCIN is brought to you by Graham Wing. The opinions expressed are those of
the Editor, Graham Wing and the Assistant Editor, Chris Empey. Graham Wing
and Chris Empey accept no responsibility for the results obtained from trying
the tips in this newsletter.

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